Just like in other alcoholic drinks, these are ‘empty calories’ with no nutritional value, so don’t benefit your body in any way. So, drinking more than seven double measures of gin in a week would put you above the UK low risk drinking guidelines. See the results from when we assembled four of the UK's most reputable gin experts to find the best gin.

The first group is the basic gin and tonics. These are characterised predominantly by citrus, and they are not surprising or particularly grabby. It’s difficult to ascribe a great deal of complexity to them in the G&T context, and they are differentiated predominantly by how well they balance the sweetness of the tonic (typically struggling to avoid a slight lemonadey quality). You could argue, therefore, that we’re not comparing like with like, and that, of course, the more expensive gins are likely to do better. For a drink to be sold as ‘gin’ in the UK, it has to be at least 37.5% Alcohol By Volume (ABV). 1 That means 37.5% of the drink is pure alcohol.

A Note on Price

But the alcoholic strength of gin can vary a lot – the vast majority of widely bought gin brands are 40% ABV or above, and some – such as ‘small-batch’ or ‘boutique’ gins can be a lot higher.

Amy and I tasted 10 branded gins in the low to medium price range — mostly ones you’d find in normal supermarkets & offies. We tasted them blind (meaning we didn’t know which was which) and in two separate rounds: first with Fever Tree’s Naturally Light Tonic Water and second with their Regular Tonic.A 50ml measure of Gordon's Alcohol Free 0.0% contains six calories, which is roughly the same as half a crisp. Two superb contenders here, but I’m giving the rusty Old Parn Ceremonial Corkscrew of Victory to Bombay Sapphire for a marvellously multifaceted G&T, with Gordon’s in the runner-up slot. Best with Fever Tree Regular Tonic What’s more, the calories people consume through alcohol tend to be additional to the calories they consume in the rest of their diet, rather than a replacement. That means you could be having lots of extra calories ‘passively’, or without thinking about it, which can lead to weight gain. 5 The world's bestselling London Dry Gin perfectly mixed with diet tonic, ready to drink in a 250ml can. To put that into context - an entire 70cl bottle of Gordon's 0.0% contains less than 0.1 units of alcohol. Calories in gin: how does alcohol-free compare?

As you can tell from the picture above, Gordon's Alcohol Free 0.0% is almost identical in appearance to Gordon's Special Dry London Gin. Firstly, we found that the gins resolve themselves into three groups fairly neatly, irrespective of the tonic with which they’re served. Although neither would call themselves a gin connoisseur, they're familiar with the sharp piney taste and lengthy finish of a classic Gordon's G&T.But. Not all gins are equal. Some are definitely better than others in a G&T. And the point of this is to compare the most commonly available ones and rank ‘em. Mainly because it’s fun and an excuse to drink gin in the interest of science. All alcohol – including the alcohol in gin - is made from natural starch and sugar. That means a single measure (25ml) by itself typically contains about 52 calories - almost as much as a chocolate chip cookie (57 calories). Here are the special category awards… Gin and Tonic Awards Ceremony Best with Fever Tree Light Tonic The second group is the punchy gin and tonics. Like the above group, these also taste very much as expected of a G&T, but rather than being citric and slightly wet, they are juniper-led, drier and considerably more assertive. They don’t bring outlandish or unexpected flavours, in general; instead, they bring what is scientifically known as hoof. Spoiler: I like these ones. It's also important to know that Gordon's Alcohol Free 0.0% isn't entirely devoid of alcohol. Gordon's says that it contains no more than 0.015% ABV, so there is in fact a trace of alcohol in each bottle.

And the final group consists of the unusual gin and tonics. These are gins which (to varying degrees of success) mainline in flavours that sit outside the standard G&T spectrum. They therefore exhibit a broad range of personalities. They may also be light, and they may also have hoof, but they are to my mind principally characterised by other more unusual flavours and qualities that set them apart from the mainstream. A Note on Price So. Yes. I know. I said before that posts like ‘the best gin for gin and tonic’ are terrible Google-baiting things. I stand by my words: there’s no ‘best’ in a world of huge variety. I am not claiming that the winner of our taste-tests below is objectively the absolute best gin in the world, because that would be ridiculous. Nose Both testers found Gordon's Alcohol Free 0.0% had a much stronger smell than Gordon's Special Dry London Gin, with sweet herby scents coming through with particular dominance.

INGREDIENTS

A typical-strength single (25ml) measure of gin will have 1 unit of alcohol in it. If your drink has a double measure, that means double the amount of alcohol (and calories). Gin is often a drink of choice for those of us watching our waistlines thanks to its slightly lower number of calories per serving when compared with other alcoholic drinks. Those looking to cut down on their alcohol intake will be pleased to discover that they can also significantly cut their calorie intake when drinking Gordon's Alcohol Free 0.0%. You can work out how many units of alcohol there are in any drink by multiplying the size of the serving (in ml) by its ABV percentage, and dividing the result by 1,000. The UK Chief Medical Officers' (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines recommend that, to keep health risks from alcohol low, it´s safest not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week, for both men and women.